What A Day

Well, I asked for winter to be over, and it is!  I’m not shoveling snow.  I’m not breaking ice in the water buckets.  I’m not bundled up in layers and layers of clothes.  I even stored much of my cold weather gear.

Winter is boring.  But SPRING?  Oh yeah, spring is EXCITING!  Exciting…and exhausting!

I spent yesterday building stuff.  A rolling wood-and-tool-storage-thingy.  I got the plans here. I’m looking forward to a more organized work space in the garage, because I’ve got a lot of projects planned!

I LOVE building stuff.  I’m not a spring chick,  so I take it slow (but not easy!)  I always miss Very Excellent Kids Libby and Sawyer when I’m working on a project.  They were my co-workers when they were at home, and it’s always more fun working with someone.  Now, I have NPR to keep me company and a couple of great boys next door who I can call on for heavy lifting when I need it.  It’ll do, it’ll do.

During the day I took breaks and fed Sophia via the mean ol’ tube four or five times.  If you follow me on Facebook, you know she was attacked by two of the other hens. (If you don’t follow me on Facebook and want to, like my page here!)  She’s hanging in there.  I think she’s getting stronger every day, but she still can’t stand.

We’re all getting into the groove of spring.  All the goats are happy and playing.   Keela is frantically sniffing for rabbits around the yard all day.  Doink is enjoying friends stopping by for happy hour.

At the end of this good day, I went out to put the chickens to bed.  Counted heads.  One missing.  Oh no.  Again?  This time – Hermione was no where to be found.

I am not an animal whisperer.  Not even close.  But somehow I sensed there was not a problem, just a missing chicken. (And besides, there were no feathers anywhere. Duh.)  I looked high, I looked low.  I walked in circles around the barnyard and looked in the yard even though I’ve never seen Hermione fly more than a foot off the ground.  Finally, I started thinking like a chicken.  If she was unhappy she would be hiding.  Down low, in corners.  It took a while, but I finally found her under the hay feeder in the goat shed.  I had to lean down VERY LOW to find her.

I pulled her out and checked her.  She seemed fine.  No droopy tail, no closed eyes, no draggy wings.  Possibly egg bound?  Might be, because she always lays weird eggs with very soft shells.  Since she was one of the hens that attacked Sophia, I might not have been overly compassionate.  I put her back and told her to be nice.  (She seemed fine today.)

Then, as if to put a cherry on top of a very good day, Keela and I were walking back to the house when she suddenly zigged, then zagged, and nabbed a mouse out of the tall grass. She could not have been more proud of herself.

It’s amazing we’re not perpetually dizzy with all the circle of life stuff going on around here.  Well-played, Keela.  Well-played.

(Shared at Simple Saturdays, HomeAcre Hop, Down Home Hop, Backyard Farming Connection, Tuesdays With A Twist, Maple Hill Hop, Homestead Barn Hop, Clever Chicks Hop, Homesteaders Hop, Farmgirl Friday, From The Farm Hop and Old Fashioned Fridays)